Communications network

A timing regulator for use in association with one of a plurality of transmitters in a fixed communications network comprising a trunk transmission line, a plurality of tributary transmission lines, and one or more signal couplers operable to couple the plurality of tributary transmission lines and the trunk transmission line, the transmitter being operable to transmit a traffic data signal onto one of the tributary transmission lines, the traffic data signal representing traffic data symbols encoded in accordance with a code division multiple access coding scheme, the timing regulator comprising:

• a traffic data signals input interface;
• a traffic data signals output interface;
• a timing signal input interface;
• wherein the timing regulator has access to a pre-set time offset store, receives a timing signal via the timing signal input interface, and is operable to receive input traffic data signals via the input interface and to control the transmitter to output traffic data signals from the traffic data signals output interface at a time dependent on the timing signal and a pre-set time offset stored in the pre-set time offset store to synchronize the encoded traffic data symbols on the trunk transmission line.